The Catholic church has a damaging effect in Scotland. The Catholic hierarchy in Scotland is every bit as conservative as Ratzinger.

Scottish Catholic bishops attack the Labour party all the time. Bishop "Nose Job" Devine is well known as a Labour hater.

The stance of the church on Catholic schools in Scotland is divisive. Catholic schools should be abolished. If the Church with its great wealth wants Catholic schools they can cough up for them.

I am glad to see some lay Catholics in Scotland are not as intolerant and ignorant as their leadership seems to be.

"...it's called Enlightenment, emancipation from fear. Only people like you, Mary, stand in the way. Fortunately, there are fewer of you every year." yellowdog.

Yes. Happily rational people, here at least, are divesting themselves from the straightjacket of mind-numbing religion, in which the guilty terrified subject defers in perpetuity to the missing, highly unlikely object.

Absolutely nothing says that Herr Ratzinger is 'the saint who walks among us', neither is there any liklihood that he is 'St Peter'. He has no special powers. He is not a god, a seer or a prophet. He is in fact just another career human being, deified by those who are so plugged in to a wishful list of ways to pursue immortality they construct an iconic placebo for divine reverence, which is their choice. Unfortunately, some of them use it as a stick to beat the rest of us with. Why the hell should we take these people seriously? There may be gods; they have no idea of course.

'Alfred' accuses others, who have the temerity to disagree with the Pope's stance on some issues, of biase and ranting. He implies that Ratzinger, the vicariously responsible leader of Catholics, is somehow unassailable in the small matter of pursuing justice for the vast number of victims of the church's crime. He provides no sources.

Raymond, incredibly, tries to utilise the perfectly respectable humanist assertion that there may be no God and that worrying about it through a system of guilt and fear is probably unecessary. He makes the highly-flawed general statement that humanists en masse do 'not give a damn' about world suffering, which is palpable nonsense and a bid to elevate the religious at the expense of those who are not.

"Britain the degenerate, secular, ‘equality’ obsessed country slipping down the slippy slope of relativism and the ‘Culture of Death’, needs the spiritual guidance of the Holy Father and the Church. Truth always triumphs in the end." Raymond.

I fear that Raymond does not fully understand the slippery and evasive meaning of 'truth' and uses the term rhetorically. Judging by his partial assertions and rigid definitions surrounding the 'rights' and 'wrongs' of marriage and homosexuality, he insists that everyone should take notice of him.

They won't. Because amazingly the centuries of religious bigotry and social control are over, mainly because they were found wanting; the product of a desire for wealth and power which exploited the ignorant and the gullible.

If he was worrying unduly about the millions of homosexuals and lesbians, or the sexual spectrum surrounding us all; 'the sanctity of marriage' or what he views as 'natural' and what he thinks is 'unnatural', I urge him to stop offending people who can think for themselves. It should be remembered that the pretending religious know nothing more about the world than the rest of us.

Raymond: Thanks for the laugh! I hope you weren't bering serious, because that's just hilarious! "Bigoted anti-Pope", that just made my day!
As for the story itself, I cannot believe that he is still attempting to come over here. Not only that, but expecting for us to pay for his rather expensive visit for him to give a two-hour long service, in Glasgow no less, is not only aggravating, but considering all the scandal going on between spreading misinformation in Africa about condoms, his previous involvement with Nazism and covering up for child abusers, would YOU want to donate to someone like that? If said person wasn't the Pope, you'd not only forget about paying him, but the person would be locked away in jail by now, so why should this man be treated any differently? "'Cause he's the Pope!" is the only answer I'm hearing, and as far as I see it, it's a very pathetic answer.
That's the problem with people who believe in a faith when you HAVE to look up to someone otherwise be tortured eternally.
The only thing I'm looking forward to is seeing Dawkin's trying to arrest the Pope. I doubt it will work, but my goodness, it would be certainly fun to watch. More fun than a two-hour service of preaching to the choir.

The problem with religion in the public square is that there are so many religions but only one public square.

"Muslims are having more children than the rest of us. The secular world is having fewer. Give it a generation or two and Islam will rule through sheer force of numbers. That's it." Theresa.

Well nothing could be more SIMPLE then Theresa! This inescapable fact is proven and completely true. The Muslim population is rising at 10 times our own rate and we are all doomed (The Times 2009). Nothing will ever change in fact or context and we will be powerless to act. All Muslims are religious. Most are closet fundamentalists. Taqyya, a form of precautionary dissimulation, is rife. This country is heading towards the iron grip of religious anarchy and nothing will stop it. No-one will integrate. We will all just accept it and become subjugated. 'Britishness' will be re-defined. (Thank heavens)

Muhammad Abdul Bari, general secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain:

“We each have our own set of beliefs. This should really be a source of celebration rather than fear as long as we all clearly understand that we must abide by the laws of this country regardless of the faith we belong to.” (Jan 2009)

We assume that the 'Christian resistance' will not affect this ideal?

Support the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain and DO something about it. Wake up to the harm it causes and oppose the power behind organised religion generally.

http://www.ex-muslim.org.uk/

Some of the comments are unbelievable.

Raymond a collection of a hundred cells is more important than the life of the mother?
And what gives you (or even God for that matter) the right to decide two people can't be lovers or adopt?

You sit there believing you have the right to judge our society when your own church is currently covering up the largest cases of child sex abuse and discriminates against a large group of people.

Your morals are questionable as are the pope's. I for one will protest against his being here at every opportunity.

Jack (Former Catholic)

"The reason there is a scandal just now is because Benedict initiated it." Theresa.

Oh I see. It was nothing to do with the mainstream press then, following innumerable complaints from thousands of victims in numerous countries worldwide?

What enables you to assert succinctly that Corey's statement; "This "Pope" knew all about priests raping children for years and did nothing about it" is NOT true? What are your sources?

"He has his enemies in the church as well; a lot of folk did not want him opening this can of worms and they would like nothing better than for Benedict to be tarred with the brush of child abuse cover upper in chief. Unfortunately, this seems to be happening."

What a haven of peace and love this church is Theresa. Do you believe this uninformed nonsense? If you are seeking to reduce or dilute the crimes of those involved in this disgraceful state of affairs, in which the evidence appears to be overwhelming, you are veering dangerously towards endorsing it surely? Pope and others on trial? Why not? Then they might be exonerated?

Why are you worrying? To try the Pope would disrupt the world order of covert power, of which you are doubtless unaware.

Dear Raymond,
Were you to move out of the UK and take up residence in the Vatican, the ethical standards of both places would be raised. Please do consider it.

"Teaching abstinence in sex education is like teaching 'hold it' in potty training." -- Roy Zimmerman

Elizabeth - I do not care what secularism is or isn't. But I know a secular society is run without reference to God. And such societies are always doomed. So is the secular West. It now stands ready to be consumed by Islam.

Only Catholicism - the One True Faith, can withstand. So what's new?!

To get back to the subject here, I am perplexed by this report. My parish bid for 700 tickets; it's only getting 500. A neighbouring parish has a similar situation and comments that I have read on other blogs report a similar situation. Who complied the figures for this and how are they doing it?

"If there is a god, why has he killed thousands in natural disasters" Michael McManus.

Ah! Well, you see, it's mainly because of the sinning and the wickedness. Fancy you not realising that! Sundry senior clerics have helped immensely following earthquakes, hurricanes and flooding, causing untold suffering and the deaths of millions, by insisting that this is God's preferred way of punishing humankind. The grieving relatives of the wholly innocent victims of God's wrath can however take great succour from the knowledge that their love ones did not die in vain, but were all part of God's plan.

Christians, of course, are not entirely sure why the same disasters occurred, for millenia prior to the arrival of Christianity, but they are fairly sure that it wasn't really Zeus loosening his lightning bolts, following the Fates' decree that a time would arrive when the sea and the land and the royal palace of heaven would burst, leaving only Deucalion and Pyrrha (a sort of prototype Noah and his missus) to re-populate the globe.

All those who perished went to hell of course, but since they hadn't heard of it and worshipped Artemis and Aphrodite et al they didn't suffer from guilt one jot or tittle. (Warning: You may hear from 'Newsreader60' who possibly will call you ignorant or bigoted for having the temerity to ask.) (!)

I'm looking forward to Dawkins getting sectioned under the Mental Health act, foaming at the mouth as the straight-jacket gets tightened.
Niki:"expecting for us to pay for his rather expensive visit" - you mean we catholics who are footing the bill - get your facts right(worth every penny too).'Spreading misinformation in Africa about condoms' - oh, you mean that Catholic teaching seems to be working (large catholic population in Uganda...and Phillipines...while those that distribute condoms and don't teach chastity the HIV & AIDS has went through the roof - have you not been listening - see my post comparing Thailand and Phillipines !)
Involvement in Nazism - oh yes the enemy of the Catholic Church , who shut down seminaries , banned the crucifix in classes(Terry Sanderson take note),promoted eugenics killing the handicapped, sent priests to concentration camps! - GET A GRIP PLEASE.If you want to see brown shirts in action check out the nutters(Ban the Pope deviant brigade)- too scared to target muslim faith schools or synagogues (they did it back in the 1930's though).

I protest that my money is being spent on 'Gay Pride' celebrations - policing cost, indecency in public - for a deviant lifestyle .Noticed the latest buffoon to take part was Boris Johnston .Not to mention the 'Emperors new clothing' so-called 'sex change' operations which in reality don't change sex but is a form of mutilation for those who are mentally ill (funded by the tax payer).

Raymond you have just gained another fan.

Well, hasn't Raymond got a lot to say! (Do excuse me if I regard you as less than some sort of religious guru Raymond, since most of your post is uninformed rubbish.)

"I'm looking forward to Dawkins getting sectioned under the Mental Health act, foaming at the mouth as the straight-jacket gets tightened."

Meaningless, unintelligent comments like this hardly describe a thinking religious perspective, intelligent Catholics must be so embarrassed. And it is quite clear from the dearth of accurate facts that this is a mindset most probably informed by a misunderstanding of propaganda.

Unfortunately 'We Catholics' are most definitely NOT footing the bill in its entirety for Mr Ratzinger's visit. A fairly small contribution is envisaged. The total cost is estimated at nearly £100 million, the majority to be funded by the taxpayer. A large percentage of this is to be spent on security - wasting police time when we are facing swinging cuts in welfare, education and public services. Massive security is necessary of course because sufficient factions abound which violently oppose what this man stands for. Since this is the case do we REALLY want this sort of person over here, yet another pretender to knowledge, to be lauded and feted in order to titillate and preach yet more tyranny to his indulged supporters?

The Vatican is extremely wealthy. The finances of the Catholic Church are woefully opaque however and exist in a swamp of controversy. It is unclear just how wealthy it really is. Italian tax payers donate upwards of 1000 million Euros annually. Penn and Teller in a recent documentary estimated the Catholic Church’s assets at least $50 billion.

And there is no independent reliable analysis which confirms that banning condoms is instrumental in stopping the spread of AIDS, quite the reverse is likely. No-one is at all 'scared' (why the use of juvenile rhetoric?) to raise the question of inequality and discrimination in taxpayer-funded faith schools generally and the triumph of medieval religious thinking over science in many Islamic schools. A one-hour programme was shown on Wednesday night highlighting these issues and outlining the disgrace of defining children by the narrow notions of guilty or indoctrinated parents. It particularly focussed on the disgusting transference of hatred between Catholics and Protestants, from one generation to another.

'Devient lifestyle...indecency in public...buffoon...mutilation for those who are mentally ill'

Raymond's remarks appear at best limited and unhelpful. He draws fatuous comparisons between fascist 'brown shirts' and those who have an absolute right to say that they oppose the papal visit, writing them off as 'nutters'. He would clearly like us all to share in his prejudiced, stereotypical, inaccurate view of the world. It is a triumph of self-confidence and free-thought that few will.

I guess I shouldn't be suprised at how anti-Catholic Scotland and Britain and Ireland have become. I'm surprised none of you have called for repealing Catholic Emancipation. You'll be happy to know that you have friends and colleagues here in America who are well on their way to "repealing" the First Amendment. But I am confirmed in my decision last year to leave the Anglican (Episcopal) church and become a Catholic. Your world has not only abandoned faith, but science and reason. And that isn't a surprise either. Africa is dying for the same reason Glasgow and Edinburgh and Dublin and London are -- no understanding of facts, no respect for the dignity and worth of the individual and no belief in anything other than appetite and its illusory satisfaction. Your absolutist beliefs in "reproductive rights" have led to the demographic implosion not only in human beings but in the reason for humans to live. Your comments are a heartbreaking spectacle of despair and bigotry.

So the Scots are subbing the Pope, eh?

Maybe has something to do with the 'voluntary' donation as well as the weather.

Maybe my dear they just don't give a damn.

In any case I think it is priceless. I can't think of a better outcome to let the old fella know he's redundant and not worth the admission price.

Hahahahahahaha.

Poor Raymond has been indoctrinated since conception as has all catholics, poor sods did not have a choice!

Religion and politics deserve NO respect.

Thank you, Elizabeth - you put it all so well

Raymond,
Its the 21st century. You need to grow up.

Why do I have to pay for this man to come to Britain?

This Pope is a disgrace. His anti-Muslim, anti-gay, anti-contraception and misogynist rants have pushed me from the Church. He is neither a holy nor a humble man. I hope he gets his comeuppance in the UK in terms of more bad press during his visit. It's time for a Catholic Reformation!

Elizabeth, this is quite simple. Muslims are having more children than the rest of us. The secular world is having fewer. Give it a generation or two and Islam will rule through sheer force of numbers. That's it.

Rationalize- " People often say that abstinence would also prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and would work better than condoms.

What they forget is that there is a strong physical urge for people to have sex, one that has developed over billions of years in order to ensure we procreate and pass on our genes; whereas there is no such equivalent for condoms. Therefore taking "nature" into account condoms will ALWAYS be more successful than abstinence.(more successful for what? - spreading AIDS?!!)

The church's insistence on abstinence is merely a psychological trick. Tell people that something perfectly naturally is abhorrent, and then every time they fail to abstain they will feel the need to return to the church and have their guilt washed away by a holy man."

^ I'm afraid your views that condoms work better than abstinence , not only rejects reason ( giving out condoms increases risk taking, are not 100% fail safe , in an AIDS infected area once they fail , as they will after the 90-100th time the results are devastating),they also reject the hard statistical evidence (see below )

The Church teaches that fornication is wrong, as is adultery,homosexual acts etc People have a free will and can reject the truth .The Church is also against drugs and drug smuggling- 'don't do it', they would say, 'abstain from it'.People who become 'drug mules' ingest condoms filled with drugs.The condoms break causing death.Harm reduction approach - use stronger condoms , within condoms,'why does the Pope and the Church mind their own business, we are try to save the lives of these 'drug mules!' ' - The Church rejects these measures because drug smuggling remains intrinsically evil - just like adultery,fornication etc It will never bend to accepting sin which would reject the ultimate good – TRUTH (God)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ni/2009/03/aids_expert_who_defended_the_p.html

Here is a quote:

To prove his point, Stefanick compared the African nations of Botswana and Uganda. Botswana promoted condom use from the beginning. Uganda, a primarily Catholic country, encouraged abstinence.

“In Botswana, Cameroon, and Kenya - they saw AIDS prevalence rise alongside condom distribution until they both leveled out,” noted Stefanick. “In Botswana today, where condoms are available nearly everywhere, one in six people is HIV positive or living with AIDS.”

In Uganda, where abstinence is strongly promoted, the prevalence of AIDS has dropped and now affects less than six percent of the population. Stefanick quoted BBC News who stated that Uganda has done extremely well in fighting AIDS because, in many parts of the country, its prevalence “was at least three times higher in the early 90s.”

Stefanick also cited a similar comparison, made between Thailand and the Philippines, where AIDS broke out at the same time. Thailand’s approach promoted the distribution of condoms while the highly Catholic Philippines promoted abstinence. Twenty years after the outbreak, the prevalence of AIDS IN THAILAND IS 50 TIMES HIGHER THAN IN THE PHILIPPINES.(This must be a "psychological trick", eh Rationalizer ?! - brain washing by the naughty Catholic Church !)

“According to the British Medical Journal, which is not a Catholic publication mind you, ‘the greater the percentage of Catholics in any country, the lower the level of HIV. If the Catholic Church is promoting a message about HIV in those countries it seems to be working,’” said Stefanick.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxYBTPzhH9A&feature=player_embedded

The stats and the mounting scientific evidence all prove Pope Benedict understands the problem far better than the blinkered bigots and press who can't utter the truth because of political correctness .It's time they joined the 21st Century and faced facts.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ni/2009/03/aids_expert_who_defended_the_p.html

Anyway,getting back to the original negative ( ....Surprise , Surprise - not !)headline of this article.Last weekend parishes in Scotland discovered how many alloted places would be available for people to attend the papal mass - ...article published on Tuesday ! - Give us a chance to put our names down please !

I'm sure if the other 'boss' (Bruce Springsteen)released tickets for his gigs and two days later the music press ran the headline 'music fans snub Bruce' , some people would say they would be somewhat premature !The real boss, the Successor to the Apostle Peter , I'm sure will get a great welcome .